Consumer Finance

KBW provided a number of updates on card issuing in a research report published today. Alliance Data Systems (NYSE: ADS) had its rating maintained at Market Perform. At the same time, its price target was left unchanged at $96. On Wednesday, ADS closed the day at $96.03. American Express (NYSE:...

KBW upgraded its rating on Capital One Financial (NYSE: COF) from Market Perform to Outperform. At the same time, KBW raised its price target on the company's stock to $62. On Wednesday, COF added 0.13% to its value to close the day at $53.13. Its shares continued to climb higher in today's rep-...

Below are the top small-cap credit services stocks on the NYSE and the NASDAQ in terms of PEG ratio First Marblehead Corporation (NYSE: FMD) has a PEG ratio of 0.02. FMD's trailing-twelve-month revenue is $274.52 million. Nelnet Inc (NYSE: NNI) has a PEG ratio of 0.27. NNI's trailing-twelve-month...

Sterne, Agee & Leach raised its Cash America International (NYSE: CSH) price target from $57 to $63.50 and reiterated its Buy rating in a research report published today. In the report, Sterne states, "Our increase in PT is tied to increased confidence in this company's ability to sustain...

Jefferies reiterated its Dollar Financial (NASDAQ: DLLR) Buy rating and its Dollar Financial $25 price target in a research report published today. In the report, Jefferies states, "DLLR announced today the acquisition of Risicum Ovj, a Scandinavian internet loan provider based out of Helsinki for...

Winners: Novozymes A/S (PINK: NVZMF) is up over 6%. Apollo Group (NASDAQ: APOL) is up over 5%. Marathon Oil (NYSE: MRO) is up over 4% after completing spinoff of oil refiner. Dendreon (NASDAQ: DNDN) is up over 3.50%. Cablevision Systems (NYSE: CVC) is up nearly 3.50%. Losers: Discover...

High-unemployment continues to plague the U.S. economy. According to the Department of Labor, the official unemployment rate recently increased to 9.1%. It's tough to imagine the illusion of a recovery extending much longer when millions of people are unemployed. And it doesn't take a market...

High-unemployment continues to plague the U.S. economy. According to the Department of Labor, the official unemployment rate recently increased to 9.1%. It's tough to imagine the illusion of a recovery extending much longer when millions of people are unemployed. And it doesn't take a market...

Stocks trading at or near 52-week highs and lows provide excellent trading opportunities, as volatility tends to increase at such levels. The following stocks hit new 52-week highs in Thursday's trading session: 1) Walter Investment Company (NYSE: WAC): Shares of Walter Investment hit a 52-week...

Is it really summer earnings season already? It seems like just yesterday we were navigating all the numbers and steering our portfolios into profitable waters. Yet, here we are! Alcoa (NYSE: AA) has been batting lead-off in New York seemingly since Bernie Williams was in diapers, and that's not...

First Marblehead(FMD), which purchased Tuition Management Systems at the beginning of the year for $47.25 million, has sold a portfolio of 377 contracts to FACTS, a subsidiary of Nelnet(NNI).  First Marblehead said it decided to sell the contracts relating to lower cost schools, many faith-based,...

Sterne Agee reiterated its Buy rating on Discover Financial Services (NYSE: DFS). At the same time, the rating agency left its price target on the company's stock unchanged at $30. On Wednesday, Discover added 1.8% to its value to end the day at $26.61. Its shares continued to climb higher in today...

On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve recommended that the cap on debit card-swipe fees be increased to $0.21. Following the news, shares of Visa (NYSE: V) and Mastercard (NYSE: MA) spiked higher; both rallied over 9% before being halted temporarily. Yet, other companies saw a rally as well: Bank of...

Shares of EZCORP, Inc. (NASDAQ: EZPW) are higher on the session by 0.34%, trading at $35.11. Overall call volume is now running at 5.28x the daily average, with 63% of all calls traded being purchases on the offer. 1,261 contracts have traded on the session so far. EZCORP, Inc. is a provider of...

Stocks trading at or near 52-week highs and lows provide excellent trading opportunities, as volatility tends to increase at such levels. The following stocks hit new 52-week highs in Tuesday's trading session: 1) CIGNA (NYSE: CI): Shares of CIGNA hit a 52-week high of $51.16 in Tuesday's...